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If we drop our keys, we can still use them to start our cars, right? If we drop our wallet, we can still use everything inside it, right?

However, when anything happens to our delicate smartphones, we are totally out of luck. And this is the device we are trusting with all our vital information and ability to get into our homes or cars. Are we crazy?

There is so much buzz around the smartphone becoming the remote control for our lives. Enough already! While the promise is enticing, there is a dark side to this story that is never talked about. After reading this, see if you are still convinced.

Now don't get me wrong -I am as excited as everyone else around the future potential for the smartphone. However, something happened to me last week that slapped me on the face and snapped me back into the reality.

We've all read the stories about using exciting smartphone apps to let us control everything in our lives. We can lock or unlock our house doors. We can open or close the garage doors. We can arm or disarm our security system. We can turn lights on and off, all from the smartphone we keep in our pocket.

We can use our smartphone apps to lock and unlock the car doors, and to start the car or just turn it on to warm up on a cold winter morning from the comfort of our home. We can store auto insurance card and someday, our driver license too. We can store credit information and pay by swiping the smartphone over an electronic reader at the counter.

Today we don't leave the house without our keys, our wallet and our smartphone, but tomorrow the phone is all we'll have to remember.

As compelling as that future sounds, there is a dark side to this story. The smartphone is simply too delicate today to be trusted with all the important things of our lives.

Smartphones are not sturdy. Many things can and do happen that make the smartphone unusable. And when the smartphone is unusable, so are all these amazing features and apps. The smartphone can go from an amazing remote control to a useless paperweight in the blink of an eye.

In fact, that's what happens countless times, every single day, to users from coast-to-coast in the U.S. and worldwide. That's why handset makers and wireless networks sell insurance for these devices. Insurance makes fixing or replacing a smartphone more affordable, but it doesn't solve other problems.

When the phone stops working, we are disconnected from our world. That's the problem.

Last week I mistakenly dropped my iPhone and it stopped working. Period. End of the story. Unusable.

I couldn't make a call or use an app. I was instantly disconnected from the world. I could not send email or text, start my car, open my house, use my credit cards or anything else.

I can't explain how isolated I felt. You would never understand until you had this experience yourself. It's very uncomfortable.

I grew up in the 90's. I knew life without wireless phones. It was no problem. Now, when my smartphone stops working all of a sudden, I feel like a flounder out of the water, flopping on a deck.

Dropping a phone is not the only hazard. Phones get stolen all the time. Phones get left behind. The battery runs out. They get wet, or for any one of a million reasons, they simply stop working.

That's right - no phone lives forever. If you are lucky, you will never have to deal with this. However, too many of us aren't lucky.

Mobile streaming is something that got introduced recently and has taken the technology world by storm. Within a few weeks of the introduction of mobile streaming, twitter saw the potential in the platform and introduced the now very famous app called "periscope".

Although this app only allows you to share what is happening right now but you can also save your streams for later views thanks to the save stream feature the app provides.

Overview Of Periscope

When you start the application for the first time, you get to see very colorful, introductory cards that help in explaining the basics of the application and also give you a step by step guide on how to activate your phone's required functions for the app to work like the camera, microphone and location services..

The app's tutorial is very user friendly and simple to understand, much better than the annoying pop-up that come off and on in other applications you use for the first time.

Although this platform is owned by Twitter, you still decide who to follow and also suggest the popular users that you might want to follow, unlike Meerkat that used to automatically follow people for you which was obviously very annoying. Periscope gives you the right to choose who you want to follow.

The app notifies you by default if someone you follow on Twitter joins Periscope and also if someone who is on your periscope starts a live stream.

You can add more friends and also update your profile by moving to the people's section in the application. You also have the option to follow people on Periscope even if you do not follow them on Twitter.

The main difference between Periscope and Meerkat is that Periscope allows you to save your streams, which can be viewed later by people who have missed the live stream. The main page of the application shows you both the live streams and the streams that have already ended, giving you a chance to review the stream once it has ended. However, if you do not want to keep the replay of your stream, the application allows you to remove the replay option as well.

With the recent update the application shows you streams that you have already watched, featured streams and streams from people you follow on Periscope. This method allows you to put the most relevant content upfront. However, interesting streams on Periscope from people who you do not follow can be seen form the global tab. A quick swipe through the tab allows you to see the latest streams from around the world. The overall user experience of the application is extremely addictive.

Streaming Through Periscope

When you set up a stream, your viewers get to see what you see. The stream completely occupies your mobile screen. Before you setup a broadcast are given the option to toggle your location information, tweet the stream with a browser link or host a private session with a selected group of your followers. With the latest update you have the option to restrict the commenting and also only giving the right to comment to the viewers who follow you.

This is a good way to keep the conversation focus, the streaming also has the option to tap a comment and block the individual who may have said something out of the line.

The number of viewers of the stream is indicated at the right hand corner of the screen. The overall experience of the stream is indicated at the right corner of the screen. The overall experience of the stream is clutter-free and clean unlike the cramped experience that was offered by Meerkat. The functionality of the application is also kept really simple; double tapping the screen helps you toggle between camera views while if you want to stop the broadcast all you need to do is pull down on a hidden tray to reveal it.

As a viewer you get the same clean interface in the periscope app that the broadcaster enjoys. The viewers have different options available to them; double tapping the screen makes little hearts appear and the more you tap the more hearts are given to the broadcaster.

The comments left by the viewers appear in smart little bubbles that disappear in a couple of seconds. As a broadcaster you do not have the option to type back your response to these comments but you can obviously speak out your response on the video. This interaction keeps the interface very neat and tidy.

Periscope allows you to view the stream in a browser, although you will not be able to interact with the host, comment or give hearts. The browser stream however lets the viewers toggle between zoomed-in view and the view between broadcaster's phone view.The developers for the application have also confirmed a landscape mode will be developed soon.

If you are looking to save your streams on your phone, you can do so once you end the broadcast. The application also gives you the option to delete the streams preventing people from replaying the streams. If you are looking to store the streams on your device though, be sure you have ample amount of space available. You phone might fill up quickly if you look to save a multi-hour stream.

The streams available on Periscope server sadly cannot be embedded. If you save a stream to your device you will not be able to see the hearts and comments available on the Periscope server stream.

Although the Periscope application looks like something that is flawless but it does have some glitches, the application has experienced some crashing if a several hours long stream is created. Since the stream crashes in between, the video would be unable to be viewed later from the Periscope servers.

What Can You Expect To Watch On Periscope?

With the release of periscope, every single person who has it in their phone becomes a broadcaster and a reporter. Shortly after the release of the application, the building exploded in the New York's east village and this was reported live via Periscope.

Yes, there were videos, tweets and vines of the disaster on other platforms but live feed of the video via Periscope gained much more attention than the rest. With multiple people having the application installed, you could find the Periscope streams with various angles.

Even the Periscope developers are of the opinion that there are unique journalist opportunities available with the use of this application. You can how the world unfolds in a unique way from the eyes of other people.

Do The Streams Get Boring?

The problem with streaming things daily is that it gets really boring. Mostly the interesting occasion may get over even before we are able to check it. The host may live stream but we may not be able to tune in on time. The best thing about the Periscope application is that it allows the streams to be stored and replayed. This gives the stream life outside the occasion.

However, these streams are to be displayed at your discretion. If you do not want to show the stream to the world you have the option toe delete the stream from being displayed.

Verdict

Periscope is an application that comes with an exceptionally clean design and is very easy to use. The application has introduced some critical features that make the application user friendly. The option to make comments and send hearts makes each stream interactive allowing the host to get real time responses from the viewers.

The only thing missing in the application right now is the 'Meerkat' functionality to schedule the link before the stream begins. This is the only thing left to be introduced by the application. Otherwise, it is an extremely fun and minimal app to share your moments with others and host interactive streams which both the hosts and the viewers can enjoy.

Adobe stopped the Flash Player support on Android platform after its 11.1 release, making it nearly impossible for smartphone users to have the full web experience. Despite the outcome of HTML5, Flash still has a huge presence in the internet. Using flash on your smartphone is a hassle, but you can do this easily by using the method given below.

How To Install Adobe Flash Player On Android?

After Adobe removed its support for Flash Player on Android, its installation applet has disappeared from the Google Play Store. However, you can still install it on your Android smartphone and enjoy flash games and play online videos by following the given procedure.

STEP 1: Download The Flash Player APK

You can download the APK file respective to your smartphone's android version from the following links.

Once you have downloaded the package, install it and follow the next step.

[alert title="Notification" icon="info-circle"]
If you get an error saying "The installation from unknown source is not enabled", got to settings > security and enable unknown resources.
[/alert]

STEP 2: Install A Compatible Browser

Flash will not work with chrome or your default web browser even if you have it installed on your smartphone. To use flash player on android you will have to use a browser that still supports flash player.

The best browsers that I have personally used and work smoothly with flash are Dolphin Browser, Opera Browser (not mini), UC Browser (standard version) and Firefox.

Install which ever you like and go to the browser's settings and enable flash player if it isn't enabled by default.

Now you can play flash media on your android smartphone. If you are facing any problems, please let me know through the comments below.

In the android corner, we have the latest Samsung phablet flagship; the
Galaxy Note 4 and in the Apple corner we have iPhone 6 Plus which really
is Apple's first venture into the large screen phablet territory.

For Apple, the journey wouldn't have been very smooth since this being its first attempt towards the biggest iPhone ever made.Moving to a 5.5" screen meant that Apple has finally decided to join the phablet party. But it is not as quite as big as the Galaxy Note 4, the latest S pen-packed handset that arguably is one of the standout phones of 2014 and 2015 until the Galaxy Note 5 turns up. Meanwhile, the sales report from Apple also shows the that the iPhone 6 has received a great response. Let's check who has the upper hand between these two giants.

First up is the Galaxy Note 4 which for the first time embraces metal and it really pays off. While ditching the fake-stitching we saw in the Note 3 and despite packing a bigger screen, it's still one of the most manageable big phones to use in one hand.

ROUND 1: Dimensions & Weight

The iPhone 6 plus comes in a measurement of 158mm x 78mm x 7.1mm and weighs in at 172g. Considering this as Apple's first large-sized phone, the iPhone 6 plus has a 5.5" 1080p IPS LCD.

The Note 4 comes in a measurement of 154mm x 79mm x 8.5mm and weighs in at 176g. The phablet feels so comfortable in your hand even with a larger 5.7" display and a high 1440p resolution. With the improved Stylus S Pen and a fingerprint sensor, it has entered the phablet market to give serious trouble to its competitors.

ROUND 2: Performance

The iPhone 6 Plus has a 64 bit Apple A8 Dual-Core 1.4GHz Processor with a PowerVR GX6450 GPU and 1 GB RAM as well as a M8 co-processor.

On paper the Note 4 has the most brute force. It runs on the latest Snapdragon processor, has more RAM and the latest Adreno 805 GPU to handle the most demanding mobile gaming and HD video playback.

The iPhone 6 Plus is no slouch though. It runs on the new A8 processor and with quad-core PowerVR GPU can cope with high intensity 3D gaming as well.

The story benchmarks tell is that the Note 4 us way ahead of the 6 Plus. In the Geekbench 4 tests, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 scores an impressive 3162 multi-core score as compared to the 2871 the 6 Plus manages. It's a little more even for single cores though. To live on a day-to-day basis both phones are well equipped to handle everyday tasks and more intensive elements like streaming, gaming and music playback. The Note 4's power is more suited to multitasking, one of its most impressive features.

Having a decent amount of time with both cameras, it's fair to say that they are both fully capable of taking great photos. You don't need to read a great deal into the megapixel count, the Note 4 and the iPhone 6 Plus both shoot detailed images up close or from afar.

The big change here is the addition of optical image stabilization. This is the first iPhone to include it and likewise, if you discount the Samsung Zoom range, this is the first big Samsung phone to pack it as well. The chief benefits here are to shoot better quality photos in low-lit conditions. While you don't get dedicated camera quality, its a big improvement especially for the Note 4.

ROUND 4: Battery Life

iPhone 6 Plus has a 2915mAh battery while the Note 4 packs a larger 3220mAh battery. When you compare battery sizes, the Samsung phablet has the bigger one but that's no surprise when you consider it has a larger 5.7 inch display.

Despite that, the Note 4 still manages to go for two days without tapping into the handy ultra power-saving mode. The 6 Plus boasts impressive battery life, but in more intensive testing the Note 4 manages an extra hour more than the Apple smartphone.

ROUND 5: The Build

Here Apple has an edge by far for the first in the competition. Despite having a fine leather back and smooth touch with a handsome band of metal around the edges, the Note 4 does not beat the iPhone 6 Plus which feels more substantial with its sleek curved aluminum body, thus making it nicer to hold. It is not only taller but is also significantly thinner than the Samsung phablet.

ROUND 6: The Price

The Note 4 is only available in 32GB model at 599 pounds. The iPhone 6 Plus in comparison starts from 619 pounds for the 16GB. 699 pounds for 64GB and a whopping 789 pounds for the 128GB model.

That is a whole lots of money to own an iPhone 6 Plus, even at the entry level price. If you wanted to match the Apple's top-end storage capacity, an additional 128GB SD card is going to cost you another 60 pounds pushing the Note 4 to the 660 pounds mark, which is still cheaper than the iPhone 6 Plus 64GB model.

If its value for money you are after, then the Note4 is definitely the bang for the buck.

Conclusion & Verdict

With an edge in most of the rounds, the Note 4 is our clear winner. But it doesn't take very long with the Note 4 and the iPhone 6 Plus to see that these two are great big phones and arguably the best options available at the moment.

If your purchase is based on innovation then Galaxy Note 4 is the one to go for. However, if your purchasing criteria is only based for design and build quality, then its the iPhone 6 Plus.

Samsung also promises the better battery life despite having a bigger, more demanding display. The fast-charging option along with the stylus adds the bonus to mix things up along.

Nevertheless, Apple's first stab at a phablet is a good one, while the Samsung Note series keeps getting better.